The Jackson Laboratory

New Alopecia Areata Service Developed at The Jackson Laboratory

JAX^® NOTES Issue 504, Winter 2006

The Jackson Laboratory is offering a new service to alopecia areata researchers. Alopecia areata (AA) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune skin disease resulting in hair loss from the scalp and elsewhere. It is a common disease, affecting approximately 1.7 percent of the population worldwide, including more than five million people in the United States. AA equally affects men and women of all races and ages, but onset often begins in childhood. Hair loss usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth bald patches on the scalp and may progress to the entire scalp (alopecia totalis) or body (alopecia universalis) (National Alopecia Areata Foundation).

The Jackson Laboratory's new service takes advantage of the AA-like symptoms that spontaneously develop in 0.25% of C3H mice by 18 months of age. Although, selective breeding can increase this incidence rate to 20%, the rate is still low and has restricted the use of C3H mice as an AA model. Dr. Sundberg and his colleagues at The Jackson Laboratory have circumvented this problem. They demonstrated that AA-like symptoms in C3H mice can be surgically-induced by grafting a small piece of diseased skin from an older mouse onto a younger recipient. Patchy alopecia usually develops within 10 weeks, and generalized alopecia is evident at approximately 20 weeks (McElwee et al. 1998). The alopecia developed by these mice is a complex polygenic trait and is very similar to adult onset AA in humans.

With the support of the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, The Jackson Laboratory has developed the first large-scale preclinical program for producing and screening mice with surgically-induced alopecia. The Service includes the following features:

• Limited quantities of C3H/HeJ (000659) mice with generalized AA (mice are 28 weeks old or older and specific pathogen free).
• Larger quantities of mice available through JAX® Dedicated Supply Service.
• Highly qualified service personnel with extensive expertise in a variety of skin disorder models.
• Custom screening of candidate therapeutic compounds for AA available through JAX® In Vivo Research Services.
• Histopathological analysis available through JAX® In Vivo Research Services (staff includes a board-certified pathologist with extensive experience in skin disorders).

For details, contact JAX® Services at 1-800-422-MICE (6423), 1-207-288-5845, or jaxservices@jax.org.

Reference

McElwee KJ, Boggess D, King LE Jr, Sundberg JP, 1998. Experimental induction of alopecia areata-like hair loss in C3H/HeJ mice using full-thickness skin grafts. J Invest. Dermatol 111:797-803.